Beloved icon of Windows history appears to be in the rear view for good

For those upset about the lack of a start button in Windows 8, prepare yourself for another disappointment -- "Windows Blue", an upcoming short-cycle successor to Windows 8, is not expected to bring the feature back.

The source of this supposed leak is CNBeta, a site with close insider ties at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), which gained respect by accurately leaking a number of early Windows 8 details.

Other info from the site includes suggests that Microsoft will further flatten the UI on the desktop (think the Metro/Windows 8 UI style), the taskbar/desktop will get tweaks, the price will be low (or free), and the new kernel version number will be v6.3 (corroborated by other independent reports). The final remnants of the Aero UI, which was a staple of Windows Vista and Windows 7 is also being bid adieu, like the Start button before it.

The start button went the way of the Dodo with Windows 8. [Image Source: Jason Mick/DailyTech]

Neowinreports that a summer launch of Windows Blue is expected. And its contacts close to Microsoft hint that the name will be some sort of riff on Windows 8, not Windows 9, as some suspected.

(For the record you can get a Start Menu-like menu by moving your mouse to the lower left corner of the screen and right-clicking. Voilà, magic!)

I keep failing to understand all the BS about Windows 8....... It's absolutely illogical........ I've been running it on my computer since they put it up to sale and it works perfectly, no problems whatsoever and I have 2 different environments I can use without any problems, my old Desktop (with a FREE UTILITY called CLASSIC SHELL, it gives the start button and lots of functions back) and the new Metro or ModernUI. I have absolutely no problems bouncing from one environment to the other, and I can download apps from the app store, quite nice. Now, just a thought, if it was Apple or Google who created an OS merging Mobile OS and Desktop OS exactly like Microsoft did, people would be PRAISING them, saying how brilliant they are, how inventive. Now, just because it's Microsoft people keep bashing it. Just learn how to use the thing and you'll realize you have MORE than before, and that's the truth behind it.I can guarantee 100%, if you install in your computer and do your set of customization on it, install Classic Shell, you will not want to see Vista, XP or 7 again……..

quote: (with a FREE UTILITY called CLASSIC SHELL, it gives the start button and lots of functions back)

We're not Apple users - we aren't the ones responsible to fix the BS the manufacturer makes.

I'd consider putting Aston Shell on it if I were forced to use it - but that's not the point. Why should I have to fix the OS to make it usable? Win7 is infinitely more user-friendly and conducive to productivity than Win8 - so just stick with that.